Korean slang profile
검지족
geomjijok
Index-finger phone users
People who use their index finger to operate a mobile phone for texting, gaming, and similar activities.
- Expanded form
- 검지 + 족검지 (index finger) + 족 (group)
- Other spellings
- —
- Earliest source found
- 2010
- Documented trend period
- Not verified
This is the earliest source we have verified, not the date the term was coined.
01Examples, with English translations
- Example by Julimmal
터치 화면을 쓰는 검지족의 모습이 거리에서 눈에 띄었다.
검지족 using touchscreens stood out on the street.
02Documented history
- 2010The National Institute of Korean Language’s 2009 new-word collection lists the headword “검지족” and its definition.[1]
03Origin & word formation
This expression was checked in the National Institute of Korean Language’s 2009 new-word collection. The collection explains a group label coined around index-finger phone operation. Who first used it and when have not been verified.
Evidence for the origin explanationHigh
The headword and definition in the 2010 collection were checked. The original re-quoted articles were not directly opened, so their dates were not used as firstSeen. The original coinage and path of spread remain unverified.
04Sources
Original titles and links are preserved. An English translation does not replace the original source.
- 2009년 신어 자료집 (국립국어원·전주대학교 한국어문화원)Published 2010Original source checked Nov 14, 2026